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Bees cluster under SBB

2K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  JStinson 
#1 ·
So I installed four nucs last Saturday, the weather has been nice and they have been bringing in the pollen. Today the temp dropped into the upper 40"s and I find a baseball size cluster of bees under the SBB of each of my hives. Is it possible these are bees that have never found there way into the hive after becoming airborn during the install?
 
#2 ·
It's possible but I usually see it when I hive in cooler weather. The bulk of the package gets dumped in on the SBB and a bunch of bees "find" them under the SBB so they hang around there. You might have the same issue after installing the nucs. I once had a grapefruit sized cluster under my SBB on I found a queen in the middle of them so maybe take a peek. In most cases where I've seen this, they find their way eventually.
 
#3 ·
One other thought. Are you feeding syrup? I've seen leaky feeders drip straight down between frames and land on the SBB. The bees get underneath and collect that syrup before bringing it in. Sometimes they do so well you don't see the wet syrup, just a cluster of bees.
 
#5 ·
My bees did this too at first. On the oldest hive from April 6th, I rarely see more than one or two under there now. After I hived the package yesterday, there were quite a few under the SBB. I didn't look to see if the wind blew them away this morning or not. I'm just about 90 miles north of you. What a change from yesterday!
 
#7 ·
I had the same thing when we installed 4 weeks ago. One big ball of bees clustered on the bottom of the SBB. I was concerned maybe my queen was in there, but didn't know what to do. It was suggested maybe the bees inside were feeding these through the screen, or that the queens pheromone was so strong, they were there, not knowing the difference of being inside or outside the hive. Cold and rainy weather ensued. By day 4 most were gone back in the hive I guess, did lose some though. Other ideas I read about suggested spraying them down with sugar water, and sweeping them into a box, then re-depositing back into the hive. I took no action, and it seemed to work itself out you could say. Live and learn.
 
#9 ·
This happens to me when I hive a swarm. The bees that fly when I dump them in find their way to the SBB and just hang out. I take a cup with a fairly wide mouth (a coffee can will work too) and put that over the bees. Then I move the container around a little to dislodge them. They fall in the container and I just dump them in the hive.
 
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